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Sherman deaths probe: What happened inside 50 Old Colony Rd.?

The lights inside Barry and Honey Sherman’s multimillion-dollar home in a tony North York neighbourhood were beaming Monday night, two forensic vans and a Toronto police cruiser still parked outside as investigators continued their grim task of determining what, exactly, transpired in the final moments of one of Canada’s richest couples inside 50 Old Colony Rd.

Into its fourth day Monday, the probe into the demise of Barry Sherman, the 75-year-old founder of generic drug giant Apotex, and his wife, Honey, 70, has attracted worldwide attention and sent shockwaves across the country, including among the political and social elite.

That the deaths are suspicious is both an understatement and their official status. As of Monday night, neither death had been classified as a homicide, despite the involvement of Toronto police homicide detectives. The squad officially took the lead of the probe Sunday evening, though it had been involved in the case since the couple’s bodies were discovered before noon Friday.

While little information has formally been released by police, the details that have come out are beginning to provide some insight into the mysterious deaths — starting with its cause. Autopsy results released late Sunday reveal both Barry and Honey Sherman died from “ligature neck compression.”

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The pathological term means either death from hanging or strangulation with a ligature. Former homicide investigators told the Star on Monday that marks on the neck can allow pathologists to make the distinction between manual strangulation and the use of a cord of some kind, like a rope.

“These causes of death can be seen in homicides and suicides and rarely accidents,” said Christopher Milroy, director of forensic pathology at the Ottawa Hospital, who is not involved in the Sherman investigation.

“Hanging is normally a suicide. Ligature strangulation is most commonly seen in homicides, but may be seen in other manners of death,” he said.

Speaking late Friday night to “alleviate concerns in the neighbourhood,” a Toronto police detective said they were not seeking a suspect. A police spokesperson said Monday that no further information could be provided than what was contained in a brief public release Sunday, which did not contain any information about police seeking a suspect.

A police source told the Star the couple were discovered by their real estate agent and found near their indoor lap pool, photos of which were recently included in a real estate listing for the home, valued at $6.9 million. Multiple news outlets have reported that the couple were found hanging; the Star has not independently confirmed this.

The Star and other news outlets, citing police sources, have reported an early theory for investigators had been that the deaths may have been a murder-suicide.

The Sherman family released a statement Saturday calling that theory a rumour, saying it was “irresponsible that police sources have reportedly advised the media of a theory which neither their family, their friends nor their colleagues believe to be true.”

Other possibilities are that the deaths are a double-homicide or suicides, said former police officers consulted by the Star on Monday. The exact circumstances of death may also end up undetermined.

The specialized team now conducting the probe is amassing the critical bits of information gathered from both the crime scene and the autopsy. In all suspicious death autopsies, investigators seek other clues that may be on the body, including signs of struggle. That could include skin cells of another person under the nails, scratches, unusual bruising — in this case, anything over and above the ligature neck compression.

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Stomach contents, too, may provide clues in suspicious death cases, including insight into whether any drugs had been ingested, said Mark Mendelson, a former Toronto police homicide investigator who is now a security consultant.

Investigators are also awaiting the results of toxicological reports, including blood and urine samples, which would provide more information including about drugs, Mendelson said. These test results can take weeks or more, he said.

He added that the homicide unit’s taking the lead in the case may simply mean that investigators who are “most experienced in dealing with sudden unexpected deaths” were needed.

“They’re the experts, and that’s why it’s gone to them. If it was a homicide, they would be calling it one. But the investigation is still going on,” he said.

Two deaths were reported at the home of Canadian billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife Honey. (The Canadian Press)

Meanwhile, police and forensics experts still at the scene are probably wrapping up their probe, the experts said. That includes a review of any available surveillance video either inside the Sherman residence, outside, or in the area; one neighbour told the Star that police had been by asking for security camera footage. They are also probably conducting a forensic analysis of the Shermans’ phones.

“The crime scene will tell the story,” said Dave Perry, a former Toronto police homicide detective who is now the CEO of Investigative Solutions Network, speaking generally about death investigations.

“One thing that I learned in all my years of working in violent crime and homicide is that, forensically, it’s still quite amazing what we can learn at a crime scene,” he said. “It’s some very old school techniques — footwear impressions, lighting up the place for any kind of forensic evidence or bodily fluids, finger prints and smears, and manner and mechanisms of the death.”

Perry added that it is telling when deaths are not immediately deemed homicides and where suspects are not being sought and police say there is no public safety risk.

“So that usually tells me immediately that whatever happened in that house is isolated to that house,” Perry said.

Police will probably now speak with anyone who had been in contact with the Shermans right before their deaths: friends, family, neighbours and anyone who may have had access to the house, the investigative experts say.

A key part of suspicious death investigations is keeping an open mind, said Mark Valois, also a former Toronto police homicide cop who is now director of academic training at the Canadian Tactical Officers Association.

“You step in, you scan the room from one end to the other, up and down, inside and out, do it again, do it 50 times if you have to, and just try not to overlook, keep your mind open to what the possibilities are,” Valois said.

That includes a situation where officers arrive on the scene and find someone hanging.

“One of the things that even the frontline officers are trained in is to not always assume that it’s a homicide — it might be a homicide to make it look like it’s a suicide,” he said, speaking generally.

Among the big questions investigators in all homicides or suspicious deaths are grappling with is the why.

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